Adam Jones

Rising motor racing star Jack Barlow emerged from a challenging weekend at Donington Park with a hat-trick of top eight finishes in the MSA Formula.

The 19-year-old from Pett had been one of the frontrunners in pre-race testing at the iconic East Midlands circuit, but an attempt to find vital extra speed from his MBM-run car hampered his chances during timed qualifying.

Having managed to hustle himself into 10th place, all was not lost ahead of the event’s three races, which were played out in front of sell-out crowds.

Barlow delivered a solid drive to eighth place in the opening race despite still struggling with a car that wanted to push on in a straight line through the corners.

The reverse grid format left Barlow on pole position for race two, but he lost two places on the opening lap.

Barlow really struggled for grip during the first half of the race and dropped another position. The car came alive during the second half of the race, though, and he set the fastest lap en route to finishing fourth.

After starting the third race from ninth place, Barlow made a strong getaway and capitalised when some of the other competitors tangled in the early exchanges.

Once the safety car had been withdrawn, Barlow made the most of his car’s renewed speed to challenge the frontrunners. He finished fifth, another solid performance that signalled more is to come.

Barlow has maintained sixth place in the championship with points from a further 24 races still up for grabs. The next round is at Thruxton on May 9 and 10.